16 | October | 2023 | The Cannon Family's travel blog

We didn’t need to set and alarm this morning because the marathon frenzy woke the whole city up about 6:15. Even though our flat was situated around the 38km mark, we weren’t that far from the start. So we had coffee as the wheel chair entrances raced by and even got to see the front runners head down (and then back up) Beach Road. But that was just the start of the day. And what a day it was: not a cloud in the sky and the promise of lots of sunshine. Love me those warm spring days!

We had to head down the road to meet our driver since so many of the roads around us were closed due to the race. But Alvin picked us up at 8:45 and we headed to Franschoek for our food and wine tasting experience. About an hour inland, it was smooth sailing once we got out of the city. We pulled up to the Franschoek Wine Tram depot just in time for a coffee and our 10am departure. We were a party of 10: a family of 4 from Glasgow who were visiting to watch a daughter/sister play rugby for Scotland; two sisters orignially from Johannesburg but one was visiting from her new home in Manchester, England; and a young couple from Dallas. (We ignored their status as Cowboy fans). And so we were off!

First stop: Paserene winery where started with our breakfast wine pairing meal. A lovely dry rose with the trout benedict, a syrah for the mini English breakfast bowl, and a bold red blend to go with the poached egg in a spicy sauce whose name I didn’t catch. Even though I am experienced wino, I mean wine drinker, I confess that wine pairing with breakfast foods has never crossed my mind. But now I know how to do it. They did a fabulous job dealing with my gluten free status and we all enjoyed the start to our day together.

Then it was back to bus-dressed-as-a-tram where we we greeted by our tour guide with truffles and a glass of bubbles known as MCC or Méthode Cap Classique. It is the designation in South Africa to show that the wine was made following the Champaigne method – because it can’t be called champaigne if it doesn’t come from that region of France. So we toodled down the road enjoying our breakfast desert to the next stop: the Grand Provence winery where we would be having lunch. We tooks some time to explore the art gallery and sculpture garden before settling under the trees for a leisurely meal.

We started with an MCC rosé paired with east coast oysters – which I wouldn’t have touched just a few years ago. Next course: a choice of a version of Caprese salad paired with a dry rosé (me) or a chicken liver concoction paired with a chenin blanc (Frank). Both were amazing. Then we had a fabulous meal served family style: more trout (I’ve had my fill of pink fish for a while!) and lamb with salad and sides and veggies and mussels and potatoes and sauces and more dishes than we had space for. We had both their White blend wine (70% Chardonnay and 30% Vigonier) for the seafood and Cabernet Sauvignon for the lamb. Everything was EXCELLENT – the food and the wine. We had fabulous conversations during the 2.5 hour event. It was truly an experience.

And just when we thought we couldn’t manage any more, it was off to the third and final winery: Haute Cabrière another French inspired winery. We started on the outside deck with a glass of MCC brut in the glorious sunshine with mountains watching over us. Then off for a tour of the cellars and an introduction to their wine making philosophy before settling in for dessert. A glass of blanc de blanc paired with the hazlenut macaron, a glass of pinot noir rosé for the passionfruit parfait, and then a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to go with the chocolate mousse (Frank got a gluteny dark chocolate tart which went better with the wine he said.) Again, full marks for all. A quick glance at the price list told me that the rosé was 100 ZAR a bottle (£4!) and the blanc de blanc was 175 ZAR (£7) so we felt it was reasonable to go home with one of each.

During the dessert stop, we had the opportunity to really enjoy the company of our fellow travelers. At least half of the group was born in 1994, one not far from there, and the rest of us were old. The youngsters were having a fabulous time and ended up following each other on Instgram – so cute! But the day needed to come to a close so we headed back to the Wine Tram depot where Alvin was waiting to take us back to Cape Town. It was a much quicker return trip both because the roads were all open and because I had a wee sleep the whole way home.

Because we hadn’t done much walking, it was time for an evening stroll along the waterfront where we were treated to families playing on the beach, a beach front dance party, and another spectacular sunset. Hard to believe but we were, in fact, hungry again so we headed for a South African institution: Nando’s! Yes, Peri peri chicken is Portuguese but the ubiquitous global chain was started in Johannesburg in 1987. If you ever want to see chaos in action, stop by a Nando’s in Cape Town on a Sunday night before their beloved Springbok are playing. I have never seen a commercial organisation be SO disorganised and in disarray. We eventually got our chicken and headed back to the flat for some Franshoek wine, Nando’s chicken, and World Cup Rugby – what an incredible win for South Africa over France. In all, an amazing day.